Meanwhile, in the space station's central control room, Kyo Kusanagi, Iori Yagami, and Chizuru Kagura—the three inheritors of the Sacred Treasures—faced off against NESTS's powerful clone warriors!
K9999!
And there were a lot of them.
"Hmph, the descendants of the Three Sacred Treasures? Let me see just how much of your ancestors' power you've actually inherited!"
K9999's strength, while not as monstrous as True Zero's, had firmly reached the peak of Ultimate Power. Against these masters from the Sacred Treasure families, the clones held their ground without any disadvantage!
"Kyo! On your left!" Chizuru wielded the Yata Mirror, continuously creating phantom images to disrupt K9999's judgment.
"Thanks, sis-in-law!" Kyo roared. After Cloud's "whale-tier healing pills," his strength had not only returned to its peak—the "breaking through destruction" principle had elevated his understanding of flames to an entirely new level! The crimson Divine Flame in his hands seemed to have taken on a life of its own!
"Trash, get out of my way!"
Iori was even more direct, entering his Riot of the Blood state! His crimson eyes burned with manic fighting spirit! Purple flames blazed around his body, and every slash of his claws carried the power to tear through space itself!
A battle fought by the three Sacred Treasure inheritors side by side—something that hadn't happened in years—was unfolding once again!
Just as everyone was fighting at fever pitch and the space station was being demolished into a "bare-bones shell"—
An earth-shattering explosion erupted from the station's uppermost level!
BOOM——!!!!!!!!!!!!
Everyone instinctively looked up, only to see that the area where the Divine Throne was located had been... forcibly punched through?! A massive hole had appeared in the station's outer wall, and countless fragments and debris were being sucked into the cold vacuum of space!
"WARNING! WARNING! Structural damage to hull detected! Imminent disintegration! Repeat, hull is about to disintegrate!"
The piercing alarm blared throughout the entire space station!
"Holy shit! Did Cloud seriously just one-shot the BOSS along with his entire house?!" Angel couldn't help but curse at the sight of that massive hole.
"Move! Evacuate! Everyone, head for the escape ships immediately!" K' made an instant decision, shouting at everyone present.
No one continued fighting. They all sprinted toward the escape corridors.
Kyo, Iori, and Chizuru, after blasting open an exit together, were also preparing to evacuate. But at that moment, they saw something on that field of "ruins" now completely exposed to the vacuum of space—two figures still locked in furious combat.
"Those two... are they even human?!" Kyo stared at the pair fighting freely in the cosmos, feeling his worldview being ground into the dirt once again.
Their powerful bodies allowed them to withstand the pressure of the vacuum; their formidable energy shields protected them from cosmic radiation.
They had transcended the category of "human"!
"Hmph, now things are finally getting interesting." The corner of Iori's mouth twisted into a manic grin. The purple flames around him burned even more intensely!
"We can't let him fight alone!" Chizuru's eyes blazed with determination, and the Yata Mirror in her hands radiated brilliant light once more!
"Let's go! Time to give that bastard... a buff!"
Kyo Kusanagi, Iori Yagami, Chizuru Kagura—three of Earth's most elite fighters—had all independently chosen to... charge toward that most dangerous battlefield!
In the void of space, dead silence reigned.
Only the soundless explosions of the disintegrating space station and the countless floating metal fragments silently testified to the brutality of the battle that had just occurred.
Igniz gasped for breath. His once-magnificent battle armor was now in tatters, revealing the wound-covered body beneath. Three of his six prized chain-blades had been broken.
He stared at Cloud across from him—completely unharmed, his hair not even mussed—and his eyes filled with madness and unwillingness to accept defeat.
"Why... WHY?! I clearly possess the power of a god! Why can't I defeat you, a mere mortal?!"
"Because your so-called godhood is nothing but a false deity cobbled together from data and energy." Cloud hovered in space, looking down at him with eyes full of pity.
"Your power is borrowed. Mine is cultivated. Your path is built upon cold programming and twisted desires. My path is about protection, about bonds, about creating a future together with those I love!"
"You lost from the very beginning."
"NO! I haven't lost! I, Igniz, will NEVER lose!" Igniz howled, squeezing out every last drop of power from within his body without reservation!
"Super Secret Art: Holy Light Blade!"
An energy blade even larger and more condensed than before took shape! This was his final strike, betting everything on one last attack!
"Still not done playing?" Cloud shook his head.
Just as he was about to end this farce once and for all, three streaks of light shot toward him from behind, stopping at his side.
It was Kyo, Iori, and Chizuru.
"Cloud! We're here to help!" Kyo shouted.
"Hmph, don't misunderstand. I just... don't want to see you die at the hands of this trash." Iori said with full tsundere energy.
"This is our fight—as people of Earth!" Chizuru's eyes were filled with resolve.
Cloud looked at these three "uninvited" reinforcements, first stunned, then... smiled.
"Sure."
"Then let's show this self-proclaimed false god..."
"...what teamwork really means!"
"Iori!" Cloud called out.
"I know! Don't need you to tell me!" Iori roared, pouring his Riot of the Blood's azure flames into Cloud's body without reservation!
"Kyo!"
"On it!" Kyo understood instantly, channeling his pure and brilliant crimson flames into Cloud as well!
"Chizuru!"
"Three Spirit Formation—activate!" The Yata Mirror in Chizuru's hands blazed with light, and a massive sealing array instantly enveloped Igniz, drastically weakening his power!
Crimson flames, azure flames, the power of the Yata Mirror, and Cloud's own Ultimate Power...
Four forces representing the pinnacle of this world's strength, in this moment, fused together in perfect harmony!
...
Get 20+ chapters ahead on - P.a.t.r.e.o.n "RoseWhisky"